Carpet jointing machine



Agwill 11 1967 G. BOUCHER 3fifi3p4fi3 CARPET JOINTING MACHINE Filed July 15, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Gerard BUUCHER Agzlriil M, 1967 5. BOUCHER 3,313,453

CARPET JOINTING MACHINE Filed July 15, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOK Gerard BOUCHER QM W AGENT ii, 319%? e. BOUCHER 73 9 CARPET JOINTING MACHINE Filed y 5, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Gerard BDUCHER AGENT United States Patent 3,313,463 CARPET JOINTING MACHINE Gerard Boucher, P.O. Box 1926, Station B, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Filed July 15, 1965, Ser. No. 472,131 Claims. (Cl. 227-108) The present invention relates to the art of making carpet joints and has for its general object a machine of new construction for joining two pieces of carpet and form a butt joint.

Carpet joints have been up to now made by hand with needle and thread. This method is tiresome and requires a good deal of ability in order to obtain a good joint with an invisible seam.

It is difiicult and hard to insert the needle through the fabric of the carpet, which fabric now usually includes a rubberized coating. Moreover, the thread is difficult to tie and the operation often results in Wounds on the fingers due to the friction of the finger knuckles against the thread and carpet fabric and needle.

An important object of the present invention resides in the provision of a new machine which obviates the above-noted disadvantages and which enables to obtain a perfect carpet joint, which is invisible and which is very strong.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of a machine of the character described, which is very easily and quickly manipulated, which enables to obtain carpet joints in much less time and with much less fatigue than in the conventional method.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of a novel stapling machine which can make carpet joints with staples used as ties.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of a stapling machine especially designated for joining carpets and provided with special tools for penetrating the carpet and for use as an abutment for bending the staples thereagainst.

Yet another object of the prevent invention resides in the provision of a machine of the character described, which has means to prevent carpet wrinkling during stapling so as to form a perfect joint.

The foregoing and other important objects of the present invention will become more apparent during the following disclosure and by referring to the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the carpetjointing machine in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the same, in nonoperative position;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of the same, in operative position;

FIGURE 4 is a broken-away side elevation of the machine;

FIGURE 5 is a partial plan view of the bottom of the same;

FIGURE 6 is a broken-away longitudinal section taken along line 66 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 7 is a partial longitudinal section with the machine in the operative position shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 8 is a cross-section taken along line 8-8 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 9 is an elevation of the tools and head of the machine, the tools being in operative position associated with carpet pieces to be jointed;

FIGURE 10 is a cross-section staples serving as a tie;

FIGURE 11 is a top plan view of one of the tools;

FIGURE 12 is a partial section, on an enlarged scale, taken along line 1212 of FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a side elevation of a tool;

of a carpet joint with 3,313,453 Patented Apr. 11, 1957 FIGURE 14 is a bottom plan view of the tool; and

FIGURE 15 is a cross-section, on an enlarged scale, taken along line 15-15 of FIGURE 13.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate like elements throughout, the stapler machine in accordance with the invention comprises a main body 1, in the form of a rigid tube of square or rectangular cross-section, disposed in upright position, being secured at its lower end to a rearwardly and horizontally extending tubular magazine 2, adapted to receive a load of metal fasteners or staples 3, in the usual manner, the staples being urged forwardly against front wall 4 of main body 1, under the action of a plunger 5 and a coil spring 5 bearing against the rearmost staple and against the removable cover 6 for the magazine 2 located at the rear end thereof.

A shelf 7 is secured to the upper end of main body 1 and protrudes forwardly thereof. Shelf 7 carries pivot 8 for an operating lever 9 terminating at its rear end by a handle 16.

A tool-operating block 11 surrounds main body 1 having a square through bore, the surfaces of which are in sliding contact with the outer surfaces of main body 1. Block 11 is therefore guided by main body 1 in an upand-down movement. Block 11 is normally maintained in an upper position abutting against the under side of shelf 7 under the action of a compression coil spring 12 located in a bore 13 made vertically through the back portion of block 11. Spring 12 is secured to the block at its upper end, while its lower end is in engagement with the head 14 of a plunger rod 15 secured to the top of magazine 2.

Block 11 is moved downwardly under lowering action of handle it For this purpose, lever 9 carries a pair of rigid arms 16 downwardly extending therefrom intermediate the ends of lever 9, said arms 16 having a curved lower free end 17, which in the raised position of lever 9, engage rollers 18 carried by stud shafts 19 secured to and laterally protruding from block 11.

As shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, upon depression or lowering pivoting movement of lever 9, the outer end 17 of arms 16 of said lever 9 push against rollers 18 to thereby produce initial quick lowering movement of block 11. Further downward movement of lever 9 causes the rollers 18 to ride on the back edge of the arms L5, where-by the block 11 is further lowered until it finally reaches a lower limit position.

Upon release of the handle 1%, spring 12 returns the block 11 and also the lever 9 in their upper limit position. The upper limit position of lever 9 is defined by the protruding stud shafts 19 engaging the outer ends of the slot of slotted bars 20 pivotally carried by lever 9 at 26 opposite arms 16.

Block 11 is provided at its front face with laterally extending flanges or wings 21, to which are pivotally connected, at 22, a pair of link bars 23.

A plate 24 is secured against the lower portion of the front wall 4 of main body 1; said plate 24 carries a pair of forwardly extending stud shafts 25 which are threaded at their forward end to receive knurled nuts 26, which retain a cover 27 on the stud shafts 25 in a position spaced from the front wall 4 of body 1. Cover 27 covers the front face of block 11 and is provided at its upper edge with a forwardly extending flange 28 hearing against the under side of shelf 7.

A pair of sector-shaped lever plates 29 are pivotally mounted at their inner ends on stud shaft 25 and are located between and guided by cover 27 and plate 24.

Lever plates 29 are pivotally connected at 31 to the outer ends of link bars 23, so that up-anddown movement of block 11 will cause pivotal movement of the lever a plate 29 away and towards each other, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.

A tool carrier block 31 is secured to the back face of each lever plate 29 at the outer zone thereof and each carries a curved tool 32 adjustably secured in a bore of the block 31 by means of a setscrew.

Each tool 32 is curved longitudinally and has a circular cross-section. It has a lateral fiat recessed face 33 near its blunt end, against which bears the setscrew to prevent rotation of the tool 32 within the tool carrying block 31.

The tip of each tool, shown at 34, is triangular in longitudinal section, as shown in FIGURE 12, and the top face of the tool is provided with a groove 35, shown more particularly in FIGURES 11 and 12, which is defined by a bottom wall 36 which is straight and substantially parallel to the heel surface 37 of the tip 34, bottom wall 36 merging at its front end with the top inclined face of the triangular tip 34, while the rear end of bottom face 36 is extended by an upwardly extending concave surface 38. The lateral walls of groove 37 are fiat and substantially parallel to each other and to the long axis of the tool. Groove 35 opens on the top concave side of the tool.

The tip 34 is further provided at its heel surface 37 with a pair of lateral longitudinally extending flutes 39, having a concave cross-section, as shown in FIGURE 15. Flutes 39 are symmetrical with respect to the central vertical plane of the tool and extend to the very tip thereof.

The tools 32, when in position in blocks 31, preferably have their center of curvature substantially coincident with the respective pivots constituted by stud shafts 25 for the sector-shaped lever plates 29. The tools 32 are adapted to pass through an opening 4%, made in a sole plate 41, extending underneath main body 1 and magazine 2 and perpendicular to the direction of movement of block 11 along body 1.

Sole plate 41 is secured to the lower edge of cover 27 and maintained in position thereby and removably therewith. Sole plate 41 extends laterally on both sides of the machine and is adapted to be applied directly against the back of carpet pieces to be jointed.

A stapling plunger 42 is mounted for up-and-down slidable movement within body 1; more particularly, the side walls of body 1 are provided with inner guiding ribs 43 engageable with lateral grooves made in the plunger 42.

Plunger 42 has at its lower edge a downwardly extending stapling blade 44 slidable against the inside face of front wall 4 and adapted to engage the top of the front staple 3 and push the same downwardly through a slit 45 made in the bottom of magazine 2 adjacent front wall 4,

in conventional manner.

Stapling plunger 42 has rearwardly extending cars 46 pivotally connected at 47 to the lower ends of link bars 48, which have their upper ends pivoted at 48' to main operating lever 9 between pivot 8 and the root of arms 16.

Opening 40, made in sole plate 41, is of elongated shape and extends transversely of the machine and forwardly and rearwardly of tools 32 and of slit 45. Thus, slit 45 registers with opening 40 and tools 32 may extend freely therethrough.

The carpet jointing machine in accordance with the invention operates as follows:

The pieces of carpet 49-49 to be jointed are placed on the floor in reverse position with the pile 50 on the floor and the fabric 51 on the top side, as shown in FIGURES 9 and 10. Care is taken to bring the edges of two carpet pieces 49 and 49' together to form a butt joint and the machine in accordance with the invention is laid on top of the butt joint longitudinally thereof to straddle the same. The lever handle is then depressed in a single continuous movement whereby pressure is applied by sole plate 41 on carpet pieces 4949', except opposite opening 40, and due to the lowering action of arms 16 on rollers 18, the curved tools 32 are rotated about pivots 25, such that pointed tips 34 penetrate the fabric 51 in a converging manner so as to press the fabric edges together,

and, at the same time, to press the carpet pieces 49-49 within opening 40 of the sole plate 41. The flutes 39 facilitate the insertion of the tool tips 34 through the fabric 51 of the carpet pieces 4949'.

The curved tools 32 finally attain and are locked in an operative limit position, shown in FIGURE 9, in which the tips 34 are opposite each other and nearly touch. In this position, the bottom faces 36 of grooves 35 are aligned and substantially parallel with the bottom surface of sole plate 41.

In this position, it is noted that the tips 34 are very close to the inner face of the fabric 51 and yet have completely passed through the fabric and are disposed well within the pile 50. In the operative limit position of the tools, the top grooves 35 on the tip 34 of the tools are in transverse alignment and vertically opposite stapling blade 44. Downward movement of the operating handle 10 has also caused downward movement of stapling plunger 42 through its link bars 48. Plunger 42 attains its lowest limit position substantially at the same time as the operative limit position of tools 32 is reached.

The stapling blade 44 engages the top of the foremost staple 3 held against front wall 4 and separates the same from the remaining staples and pushes the same downwardly through slit 45 and opening 40 of sole plate 41.

The downwardly extending side legs of the staple 3 penetrate through the fabric 51 of the carpet pieces 49- 49 on each side of the butt joint and engage the curved end surfaces 38 of grooves 35 at the tips 34 of the tools 32 to be bent inwardly with the free end of the legs of the staple sliding towards each other along the bottom face 36 of the grooves 35.

The staple 3 in its final attaching condition is shown in FIGURE 10. After the staple is in position, the handle 9-10 is released and pivots upwardly under the action of spring 12. During this upward movement, the stapling blade 44 moves upwardly, and tools 32 also retract while the rear edge of the arms 16 moves along rollers 18. Finally, when the curved outer ends 17 of the arms 16 engage the rollers 18, the block 11 is allowed to quickly move to its upward limit position to thereby complete the retracting pivotal movement of the tools 32, which movement is accomplished by the rotating movement of the sector-shaped plates 29.

In the fully retracted position of the tools 32, their tips 34 are retracted within the opening 40 of sole plate 41 on each side of slit 45, as shown in FIGURE 2. The tool carrying blocks 31 is easily accessible for changing and adjusting the position of tools 32.

Also, the cover 27 can be easily removed for acess to the internal parts of the system.

The staples are loaded in the usual manner in the magazine 2 by removing cover 6.

In the movement of the tools and stapling blade 44, it is noted that the tools have already moved well into operative position and that it is only once the tools are in engagement with the fabric of the carpet pieces that the staple is pushed through the fabric of the carpet pieces. The tools therefore serve as an abutment surface for bending the legs of the staple inwardly and firmly against the inner face of the fabric.

The tools, clue to their converging movement, serve also to maintain the edges of the carpet pieces 49 and 49 in firm engagement and to cause engagement within sole plate slot 40 of the zones of said carpet pieces surrounding said tools, just prior to the insertion of the staple to thereby form a good butt joint and in which the fabrics of the two carpet pieces are in exact alignment. The sole plate 41, because it presses the carpet pieces against the floor, prevents said carpet pieces from wrinkling while allowing the same to move upwardly within slot 40 and be trapped therein to allow the tools to pierce fabric 51.

Staples are secured to the carpet at approximately halfinch distance, but this distance may vary in accordance with the type of carpet. The machine is very easy and fast to operate, is not tiring and the resulting joint is very firm and secure and is invisible when the jointed carpet pieces are turned over in upright position.

While a preferred embodiment in accordance with the invention has been illustrated and described, it is understood that various modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A carpet jointing machine comprising, in combination, a stapling head having a discharge orifice, a stapleejecting mechanism associated with said head for ejecting staples through said orifice successively upon successive operation of said mechanism, a sole plate secured to said stapling head and extending transversely of said discharge orifice and protruding from both sides of said head, and a pair of curved tools having elongated pointed tips carried by said stapling head for movement between retracted and operative positions, said sole plate having an elongated slOt in register with said orifice and tools and through which the staples are ejected and through which said tools extend in their operative position, said slot disposed transversely of said stapling head and extending outwardly from both sides of said head, the underface of said sole plate being downwardly spaced from the edge of said discharge orifice, means drivingly connecting said tools to said staple-ejecting mechanism, whereby movement of the latter will cause said movement of said tools and bring said tools into said operative position during the ejection of a staple by said staple-ejecting mechanism, said tools disposed substantially in the plane containing the staple to be ejected and on opposite sides thereof, said tools in their retracted position having their tips above the level of the underface of said sole plate, and in operative position having their tips below the level of said staple and across the ejection path of said staple, whereby said tool tips serve in their operative position as abutment surfaces against which said staple is pressed and bent during ejection of said staple, and said tools also engage during their converging movement from retracted to operative position two carpet pieces to be jointed and press the same together at their edges to form a butt joint and also move the same upwardly and within said sole plate slot to be trapped therein.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tools each has on its tip in a zone facing the staple to be ejected, a longitudinally extending groove adapted to face said staple in the operative position of said tool, the bottom of said groove being longitudinally straight and merging with the outer surface of said tip near the end of the latter and having a curved end wall at the opposite end of said groove to engage a leg of said staple and curve the same inwardly during ejection movement of said staple.

3. A carpet jointing machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the tips of said tool have in their zone facing away from the staple in ejecting position, longitudinally extending flutes extending right up to the end of the tip of the tools to facilitate insertion of said tools through the fabric of carpet pieces.

4. A carpet jointing machine comprising, in combination, an upright body having an upper end and a lower end, an operating lever pivotally connected to the upper end of said body, a stapling blade assembly mounted for guided up-and-down movement along said body between an upper retracted position, and a lower operative position and connected to said operating lever for operation thereby, a magazine extending from the lower end of said body and for supplying a row of staples to said stapling blade, said stapling blade engageable with the foremost one of said row of staples and ejecting the same upon downward movement of said blade under action of said operating lever through a slit made in the lower end of said body, a pair of curved tools having pointed tips pivotally carried by said body for movement in a transverse plane containing said stapling blade and said slit between a retracted position in which said tool tips are on each side of said slit and at substantially the same level, and an operative position in which said tool tips are disposed below said slit and spaced therefrom and in the plane of said slit and ejection blade, a sole plate secured to and extending transversely of the lower end of said body and having a transverse elongated slot registering with said slit and through which said tools freely extend in their operative position, said sole plate having its underface spaceddownwardly from the lower end of said body and extending laterally outwardly from both sides of said body and mechanism drivingly connecting said operating lever with said tools to move said tools from said retracted to said operative position during the ejection of a staple in a staple-ejecting position by means of said ejection blade, said tool tips serving as abutment surfaces against which a staple being ejected is pressed and bent, said tools also engaging during their converging movement from retracted to operative position, two carpet pieces to be jointed and against which said sole plate is pressed and press said two carpet pieces together at their edges to form a butt joint, and trap said pieces within said sole plate slot.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein said mechanism drivingly connecting said operating lever with said tools includes a pair of lever plates pivotally carried by said body, said tools being carried by the outer ends of said lever plates, a block slidably mounted for up-anddown movement on said body, link bars pivotally connecting said block with the respective lever plates, rigid arms depending at an inclined angle from and rigid with said operating lever in a zone remote from the pivotal connection of said operating lever to said body, stud members protruding from said block and engageable by said arms, whereby said arms engage and ride on said stud members upon lowering movement of said operating lever, to move said tools in operative position.

References lCited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,012,027 8/1935 Taylor et al. 227-l08 2,488,940 11/ 1949 Schafroth 227108 2,722,002 11/ 1955 Allen 227108 2,740,119 4/1956 Schafroth 227-108 2,770,804 11/1956 Schafroth 227l08 2,847,674 8/1958 Wasynczuk 227-108 2,899,679 8/ 1959 Allen 227108 GRANVILLE Y. CUS TER, JR., Primary Examiner. 

1. A CARPET JOINTING MACHINE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A STAPLING HEAD HAVING A DISCHARGE ORIFICE, A STAPLEEJECTING MECHANISM ASSOCIATED WITH SAID HEAD FOR EJECTING STAPLES THROUGH SAID ORIFICE SUCCESSIVELY UPON SUCCESSIVE OPERATION OF SAID MECHANISM, A SOLE PLATE SECURED TO SAID STAPLING HEAD AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID DISCHARGE ORIFICE AND PROTRUDING FROM BOTH SIDES OF SAID HEAD, AND A PAIR OF CURVED TOOLS HAVING ELONGATED POINTED TIPS CARRIED BY SAID STAPLING HEAD FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN RETRACTED AND OPERATIVE POSITIONS, SAID SOLE PLATE HAVING AN ELONGATED SLOT IN REGISTER WITH SAID ORIFICE AND TOOLS AND THROUGH WHICH THE STAPLES ARE EJECTED AND THROUGH WHICH SAID TOOLS EXTEND IN THEIR OPERATIVE POSITION, SAID SLOT DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF SAID STAPLING HEAD AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM BOTH SIDES OF SAID HEAD, THE UNDERFACE OF SAID SOLE PLATE BEING DOWNWARDLY SPACED FROM THE EDGE OF SAID DISCHARGE ORIFICE, MEANS DRIVINGLY CONNECTING SAID TOOLS TO SAID STAPLE-EJECTING MECHANISM, WHEREBY MOVEMENT OF THE LATTER WILL CAUSE SAID MOVEMENT OF SAID TOOLS AND BRING SAID TOOLS INTO SAID OPERATIVE POSITION DURING THE EJECTION OF A STAPLE BY SAID STAPLE-EJECTING MECHANISM, SAID TOOLS DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE PLANE CONTAINING THE STAPLE TO BE EJECTED AND ON OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF, SAID TOOLS IN THEIR RETRACTED POSITION HAVING THEIR TIPS ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE UNDERFACE OF SAID SOLE PLATE, AND IN OPERATIVE POSITION HAVING THEIR TIPS BELOW THE LEVEL OF SAID STAPLE AND ACROSS THE EJECTION PATH OF SAID STAPLE, WHEREBY SAID TOOL TIPS SERVE IN THEIR OPERATIVE POSITION AS ABUTMENT SURFACES AGAINST WHICH SAID STAPLE IS PRESSED AND BENT DURING EJECTION OF SAID STAPLE, AND SAID TOOLS ALSO ENGAGE DURING THEIR CONVERGING MOVEMENT FROM RETRACTED TO OPERATIVE POSITION TWO CARPET PIECES TO BE JOINTED AND PRESS THE SAME TOGETHER AT THEIR EDGES TO FORM A BUTT JOINT AND ALSO MOVE THE SAME UPWARDLY AND WITHIN SAID SOLE PLATE SLOT TO BE TRAPPED THEREIN. 